Radar
by Poisoned Scarlet
Summary: It wasn't the dead they should be worried about, it was the living — sequel to Ripchord.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater.

**Radar  
by. **_Poisoned Scarlett_

"D…_damn_," she wheezed, cutting through the thick shrubbery as fast as she could. The loose straps of her boots tore on tree roots hidden under piles of leaves, the crunch of them loud in her ears. Her throat was alive with the beating of her heart, so hard and so loud that she was sure _they_ could hear it. She was sure that was how they were tracking her. She heaved the duffel bag further up her shoulder, slapped a hand on a nearby tree and caught her breath for a second. She could hear them behind her, staggering through the woods like her, lost and oblivious to anything around them except her—her and her blood, the crusting red that was drawn down her skin from an earlier fall.

"Why won't they leave?" she hissed and reached into the duffel bag for a gun. She checked it for ammo, cursed when she saw it was half-empty already, and sharply turned and shot a Walker who had caught up with her. He fell like any other, writhing on the floor until she shot it still with the next bullet. She did the same with its companion when it appeared from behind a tree. She unloaded the empty cartridge afterward and dropped it, tossing the gun into the duffel bag. _Ammo_, she needed more ammo. _Soul_ had ammo, he always did—

"_Nnghhh…nnnghharghhhh!" _

Maka heaved the bag up on her shoulder and continued her run through the forest, casting furtive glances over her shoulder. There was an increasing number of undead that followed her deeper into the woodland; had they caught onto her scent so quickly? There were so many, so many she could not keep up, but she needed to keep running. Running, ignoring the way her feet sloppily hit the ground and threatened to give. She could already feel herself reaching her limit and she had to take it easy, that was what the doctor had said, but how could she take it easy when she had practically been _forced_ into the forest when she heard that first Walker moan right outside her window?

She did not know where Liz was.

But, more importantly, she did not know where _Soul_ was.

There was a part of her, a large part, that feared for him—that panicked over him, that desperately needed to know where he was and if he was safe and—but before she could let those thoughts overwhelm her, she blocked them out. He was fine, he was the best strategist she knew. Liz also accompanied them on this trip, arguably the most important trip of their lives as they carried the cure for those in the beginning stages of Infection, and vaccine for those who had survived the worst of the plague, and she was very good with a gun. They made a killer team, she thought uneasily, perhaps they were better off without her dragging them behind but they would never leave her, right? They wouldn't just off her like this, right?

_Of course not, _Maka chided herself. _He left to find some food with Liz because she's extremely good with a gun and she was born around these parts so she knows them better than both of us combined. I stayed because I wanted to. I stayed because—_Maka reached into her duffel bag for a rifle, fumbling for a few bullets. Some fell in her haste but she did not dare to stop and pick them up: she only loaded up the gun with what she had and turned on her heel, shot at the Walkers that were beginning to swarm her—_I stayed_ _because I needed to take care of the cure. I stayed because that's more important than some stupid romance._

That's right: she was in charge of making sure it was kept at the proper temperature, that it did not mix or ruin. Kidd had left the suitcase primarily to her because she was the most responsible one out of the two of them. She knew more about how it was created and how it was to be cared for than the two of them combined. She was good at this, they were good at that, and this is how they had decided who-did-what for the day. It was reasonable, but what was unreasonable was her fear of being left behind despite all that had happened—

"AH!" Maka grabbed hold of a tree to stop her fall, the bark scratching her palms. She looked at her trembling and pricked hands, then staggered upright and continued her run.

Maybe it was because she felt like she and Soul were growing distant. There was a rigidness about Soul when he was with her, something that made her wonder if maybe, maybe he really did regret bringing her back? Leaving the group, leaving _everyone_, just to make sure she didn't succumb to the virus? She knew she was a little more than a liability, what with her chronic headaches and weakness. The virus might've been stunted inside of her, slowly but surely cleaned away through regular vaccines by Kidd, but the side-effects were sometimes worse than the illness itself. She suffered from migraines most of the time, her muscles gave out on her completely if she exhausted herself too much, and she was always thirsty.

Kidd said it was normal and it would pass with time but now, as her muscles shook with exertion, powered only by the adrenaline she felt through every vein and vessel, it was going to cost her her life. But she was also kidding herself. She was being stubborn again. This whole rigidness between them was just due to her stubbornness; the fact that she _noticed_ how his hands lingered on her skin and how his eyes _looked _at her, at her neck, at her lips, and she was not afraid of being left behind in the sense of being betrayed. Maka had begun to realize just how easy it was to die in this new world and, with every instance that Soul was not beside her, it was another chance for the dead to snatch away what she considered to be her only life-line.

"Get away!" Maka snarled, using the butt of her gun to smash it into the Walkers head. She dropped her duffel bag on the floor, hammered the butt of the gun into the Walkers skull until it shattered. Black blood sprayed over the deadened leaves, leaked out of the infected mans skull as his jaw worked around silent howls. His eyes, filmed white and rolling around in their sockets, only told her that he was an old one—already decaying, falling apart inside. Just how long did these undead, for lack of better word, 'live'? Just how long could a rotting body go on before it couldn't any longer, when the flesh and blood it had consumed tore its own stomach open at the seams and rendered them immobile—death by their own hunger?

Stein estimated a total of one hundred and forty days give or take. He mentioned how the infection altered the body, preserved it, and mentioned many variables that could extend or shorten this estimate. However, he said she should not be worried about how long an undead could last before it succumbed to itself: she should be more concerned with how, exactly, the living would be able to cope with this sudden lack of morality, of order, of humanity. Because, as he'd told her, gray eyes steady on her own, cigarette hanging off chapped white lips, what they were doing was mass murder.

She _murdered_, that was what this was, and just how could she live with herself after all this? Because did she really think these undead were less than human—that just because she _called_ them undead, they were another thing altogether? Stein had looked her straight in the eye, took some perverse joy in the way her face lost some of its color, because how could she call herself a hero when all she was doing was pulling the trigger on someone who had unfortunately succumbed to illness?

"_Nnnghhh! Mmnnngahhh!" _

_Illness or not,_ she had told him_, they were volatile and rabid and, most of all, __**dead.**_

She did not look at the vaccine incubated behind her that day.

Stein did not mention it, only left her to her thoughts.

Maka snapped her head to her right, to the bodies she could see staggering towards her. The bony, black figures against the backdrop of the blinding sunlight, their broken limbs casting horrific shadows on the uneven ground make her run faster. She needed to keep moving because the cure was with her and she could not let that ruin—because everything needed to right the world, to put a stop to all this _murder_ Stein claimed it to be, was cushioned inside a metal suitcase. It was all inside a few tiny vials made of glass. They held the potential to turn everything around, to bring back what made her laugh and what made her a child and what made her forget to look over her shoulder, forget the heavy metal of a gun in her hand, the _thump thump _of her heart in her head and_ shitshitshit_ repeated under her breath, halfway between a sob and a snarl—

"A-ah!"

She tripped and fell hard on her knees this time, her bones rattling with the force. The duffel bag fell beside her and blew plumes of late autumn leaves into the air. The ground was cold, wet, and she could feel remnants of snow from the previous night. Cold, yes, it was cold but she could barely feel it—barely notice that her breath created puffs of white mist, barely noticed that she couldn't feel her nose or cheeks anymore. Cold was not important, not as important as surviving this sudden onslaught of the undead. The cold could wait, like most things in her life now.

Maka dug in her bag desperately, pulled out another handgun and raised it to a Walker. She shot once, nailing him in the neck, and it was enough to propel him back enough to buy her some more time. Maka crawled to the duffel bag, wobbled upright only to shriek when a bony hand grabbed her arm. Maka shoved her elbow into its face, broke its nose and ignored the cold blood that dribbled down her skin. It left streaks of black; it was clumpy, puddling on the ground, a foul smell invading her nostrils. She shoved the decaying woman away, shot her in the head, ignored the raspy, unhinged laugh of professor Stein that cried _murder, you're a murderer! How does it feel, living in a world without rules? It's madness! _in her mind. Instead, she ran up the steep forest grounds with the dead at her heels.

Because this was survival, a dog-eat-dog world.

This was survival, she told herself, survival as she grabbed a mans neck and twisted it, hearing bone crack—a crack that resounded in her mind, in the part of herself that smiled and clapped and told her to do it again.

* * *

"Did you check that box over there?"

"No," Liz replied, wrinkling her nose. She crossed her arms. "I'm not touching it! It's got blood all over it!"

"So? Look through it!"

"No way! That's so unsanitary—what if, what if you contract something from it—like, like some sort of undead _flu_ or—!"

"Y'know what?" Soul cut her off, casting her a flat look. "Forget it. I'll do it myself."

"Right..." Liz dully said, poking the box of bloody canned goods with the butt of her rifle. She turned to look at Soul, who had overturned another crate with his foot and caught his wrinkled nose. No good either, she thought grimly, but he was still looking. This supply of canned goods had been ravaged, cans crushed enough that their contents spilled out. It was covered in black blood, other spoiled foods, and frankly Liz would rather cut off half of her hair than dig through them to pick out something good like Soul was doing.

"Why don't we just look elsewhere? This is so gross!" Liz complained, a little nauseous as Soul continued to dig through the box and ignored the globs of _blood _that smeared his hands. He had better take a long and hot shower after this because she was sure the smell of rotten blood and spoiled goods would stick worse than skunk. "We can just go to the next store? There's one two blocks from here—!"

"Too far," Soul grunted and managed to pick out four good cans from the rest. He continued his search. "Maka's been getting weaker recently—she sleeps a lot more and Kidd said we have to make sure she doesn't exhaust herself. She's still recovering."

Liz pursed her lips. "Yeah, but she hasn't been doing much in the first place. She's fine."

"That's what you think—she goes out, when you're not looking. Caught her poking around the barn last night, that idiot. That's where I got that rake from…" His eyes shifted to the very same rake propped against the wall in two pieces because he had overestimated its strength and snapped it clean in two after impaling a Walker with it. "Came in handy."

"Well, even if she _is_ going out sometimes, she still doesn't do much! Which is why I don't understand why she's so tired… has she been getting any sleep?" Liz narrowed her eyes a fraction when Soul faltered. "Soul?"

"That's it," he said, sounding like he could smack _himself_ with a book. "She's not sleeping—that's why she was in the barn last night! She doesn't sleep."

"It might explain the bags under her eyes," Liz clucked her tongue. "Not attractive."

"Shut up," Soul snapped and went back to searching. "If she's not sleeping then something's keeping her up. I'll talk to her about it later."

"Y'know, you get pretty defensive when someone bad-mouths her," Liz smirked but Soul remained undeterred. "Got a little crush on her, is that it? It's okay, it's kind of obvious. It's not like you try to hide it, either. Last week, in the hall. _Awkward_," she grinned when he faltered, remembering the incident that involved his hands getting carried away again and touching her soft cheek—the eyelashes that curled to reveal bright emerald eyes, pink lips parted just enough to feel her hot breath. He would have noticed more, touched more, had Liz not walked in at that very moment shouting something about someone eating the last strawberry-filled cupcake on this side of the US.

"Maka's a lot more than what you think she is," Soul quietly told her. Liz's smirk gradually faded. "You might see her as this girl who needs to be protected but she's not. She's just a little sick right now but when she gets better, she'll prove you wrong. She doesn't like it when you treat her like she's about to collapse at any given moment. If you treated her with more respect, maybe she'd talk to you more," Soul said as he stacked four undamaged cans beside him. "She doesn't need to be babied."

"She's half my size, 'bout as young as, oh, I dunno', _a highschooler?_" Liz blew out a frustrated breath. "I don't mean to sound rude, but that isn't a lot to brag about."

"She took care of these kids," Soul started, startling her with his evenness. His fingers brushed away scabs of black blood on the cans. "Five of them, practically still in daycare, since the outbreak began. She took care of them by herself all those months before she met us. She foraged food for them, risked her life every day for them, and when I met her…she went _back _for one. She nearly died for her," Soul continued, holding a broken can in his hand. "She _would_ have. She would have died for all of them if given the choice, but not before she fought until she bled out. Just because she's some highschooler doesn't mean she lacks any more courage than us. To be honest, she's probably more courageous than both of us combined."

Liz shifted her eyes to the windowpane of the grocery store they'd broken into, to the fading sun on the horizon. Perhaps she was being a little hard on Maka—after all, the girl had practically made it back from becoming one of the undead and, only a week later, demanded to be let out of bed rest so she could get a feel for the world again. A week after that they were hitting the road. Liz had followed because she needed to ensure that the vaccine cure was properly handled once in the hands of medical doctors. Patty would have come s well, although Kidd and Stein still needed someone with enough medical expertise to aid them in their experiments.

So Liz knew all about courage and being stronger than one looked. Except it was the opposite with her, really: she was petrified of this—this decline in society, this decline in humanity, this decline of resources and _people_. She was terrified of the undead, their gaping mouths and hanging skin and black blood that seemed to streak every street and wall and windowpane. So maybe it was not so much her being critical with Maka as it was that she admired the girls resiliency—her ability to still be able to smile and look towards some silver lining Liz was blind to.

"I guess…" Liz murmured.

Soul stacked another two cans then abruptly stopped. He looked at the window.

"What is it?" Liz asked, worriedly.

"Do you hear that?"

She strained her hearing but frowned when she heard nothing; absolutely nothing. "No. What is it?"

"It's too quiet—why is it so quiet?" Soul went over to the window, scanned the outside and saw it was completely deserted. "There were Walkers out there when we came here. Where did they go?"

"I don't know. What does it matter?" Liz asked, rubbing her hands up and down her arms. "Maybe they crawled back into their—their zombie holes or something!"

"No, they found something," Soul stared out the window. "They travel in packs, like wolves. There's a leader they follow because it leads them to food—their base instinct is to feed and if someone can give them that, they'll follow. So they've caught onto something _alive_."

"H…hehe, you sure know a lot about them," Liz forced a laugh. "Their behavior and the like. Stein wanted to…study them, for awhile. He even chained one up in the basement," she avoided his blank stare to look at her shoes. "Kidd eventually convinced him it would be too much of a hazard to keep a Walker in the basement…it could escape or—attack him or something."

"Maka told me," Soul answered a few seconds later. Liz dug her fingers into her arms. "She's been around them longer than I have." He went back to collect the stack of cans into his backpack and zipped it up, slinging it over his shoulders and walking past Liz without another glance. She stifled a sigh but followed, making sure to keep her gun cocked and ready.

"Do we head back to the house?" Liz asked once outside, both of them heading down the main street cautiously. Her eyes ran over dilapidated apartment buildings, the trash and human remains that littered the sidewalks. To think once this had been filled with people, walking to the store or back to their homes, holding hands with their daughters or sons or—

"Yeah, we've got enough to last us a few days," Soul answered, referring to the extra bag Liz carried on her own back. His carried more medical supplies and those soup cans for Maka. Liz managed a tiny smile at that. He cared for her so much. He was always looking after her and never looking away—not for a second, she was always in his sight. She figured this was probably the longest Maka had been out of his sight since they arrived at the CDC. She wondered if, maybe, if they weren't in such a crisis situation, they could have become something more—maybe even gotten married, had a few kids, always bickering in that fond way they did. She figured one way or another they would: their chemistry was enough to make her believe in things like love again.

"Hey, do you think we can head out tomorrow evening like we planned? We've got a time-limit on the vaccines and it's still a long way to the border," Liz spoke up nervously as they wove their way past stalled cars. Soul opened his mouth to answer when they both heard the echo of gunshots.

Liz stopped and so did Soul, listening.

It remained eerily quiet.

"Hey, Liz?"

"Yeah?"

"Those gunshots—they came from…" he looked in the direction of the house, feeling his stomach drop like a block of lead. "…they came from house, didn't they?"

Liz stared in that direction, too, and flinched when two more shots sounded. "_Maka_," she uttered and no sooner than the words were out of her mouth, Soul was running—running faster than she could keep up with but she didn't need to. She only needed to follow muffled gunshots, ignore the sun that was already an orange strip against the skyline. Liz hesitated when she was at the edge of the forest but soldiered through before she could lose sight of Soul anymore than she already had. She pushed past trees and hissed when branches slapped her skin and sliced paper-thin cuts. Her eyes darted left and right for anything that staggered or moaned, the grip in her gun making her knuckles white.

"_MAKA!" _Soul screamed, muffled by distance.

"Shit, shut up, Soul, you'll bring them right to you!" Liz cursed and hurried. Her eyes bulged when a Walker suddenly came out from behind a tree, its lower jaw snapped clean off. Its tongue was ripped halfway, all hanging flesh and bleeding black. "Ugh, oh, god, so gross! Get away!" She rose her rifle and shot, using her foot to kick him away from her. "Gross!" She cried but continued on, shooting a few more that staggered her way. She had just shot her sixth, worry beginning to gnaw at her thoughts, when she heard Soul shout Maka's name again. She ran faster, shooting another, reloading her rifle and shooting another, and she shouted both their names because this was starting to get too dangerous, when she broke through the foliage and watched both of them fend off what looked like the start of a hoard.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Liz cussed, shooting more of them down. "GET OUT OF THERE! RUN!" Liz shouted, shooting the ones who had sensed her and staggered towards her. With her help, they reduced the numbers, but she noticed that the more they shot down, an equal amount were being replaced. She had no idea where they were coming from but, as Soul grabbed Maka's arm, pulled her in front of him and out of the closing mob of the undead, they needed to get out of there—out of this town—_immediately_.

"Head back to the road!" Soul shouted. Liz immediately turned heel and retraced her steps, aware of Maka's wheezy breathing, aware that for however strong Maka was there was no way this could be healthy for her, aware that maybe Kidd was right when he warned that it was too early to leave the CDC—no matter the cure, the breakthrough.

"Everything in its time," Liz whimpered to herself. Everything in its time her ass but _damn_ if Kidd hadn't been right this one time.

Liz slid to a stop once her foot touched asphalt but she barely had time to take a breath before Soul was rushing past her, pointing to the house where the van was still parked.

"Are you kidding me?" Liz shrieked. "We can't go back for it!"

"We're gonna' have to!" He snapped back. Maka didn't look too good—pale, her brows scrunched together, sweat coating her forehead, her hand gripping her shirt hard enough that her dark veins popped on her skin. "Just follow my lead!"

"THERE'S DOZENS! There's no way you're going to be able to even get _near_ it!"

"I just need to get inside!" Soul insisted. "Doors unlocked! I figured something like this might happen!"

"The key?"

"In the ignition!"

"Okay, that is _so_ not smart—!" But Liz barely had time to reprimand him when Soul stopped and pulled Maka to his chest for a second, telling her something that Liz couldn't hear. It only lasted a second, then he was heading over to Liz and passing the pale-faced girl to her, ignoring her sputters in favor of reloading his gun and checking for his knife.

"Hold onto her for a sec, I'll go get the van!"

Liz balked. "What? You're not actually thinking about going? But what about _us!_"

"It'd be even more dangerous if you two came along," Soul silenced her. "I'll do it. I'll be fine." He looked at Maka, who shook her head at him but was too winded to really scold him on his reckless plan. "I'll be fine, Maka, and if you follow me, you'll regret it!" He warned and, smiling briefly at the dark look in her eyes, ran towards the van at full speed.

Liz shook her head, watching him grow smaller in the distance. She pulled them both toward a tree, hiding behind it. "That idiots gonna' get himself killed—there's _dozens_," Liz whispered in disbelief, casting a quick look around her to find them safe for now. She carefully wrapped Maka's arm around her neck and heaved her up, making sure to keep her own rifle at easy access. She couldn't hear anything but that could change in less than a second.

"He's," Maka panted, eye shut in pain, her lip twitching into a semblance of a smile, "_special."_

"You're tellin' me!"

"But he'll," Maka smiled weakly at Liz, "he'll come back. He won't die. He can't."

"Can't?"

Maka nodded her head. She slumped against Liz when exhaustion finally set into her bones, still holding onto the duffel bag with white knuckles. She closed her eyes for a bit, tried to stave off the dizziness. She had overexerted herself and it was showing in how she could barely breath, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. She was still in delicate condition, although she hated to admit it, and after this accident, she was sure Soul would be even _more_ of a guard dog than he already was. She was definitely not anticipating the next few weeks until they reached the border. But she _was_ anticipating one day, one day that was coming very soon: "He promised to be there for my birthday."

"Your birthday?" Liz stared at her, tightening her grip on her. "...When's your birthday?"

Maka smiled faintly. "Tomorrow."

Liz would have asked her how old she was turning if Soul hadn't pulled up beside them at that very moment, shouting at them to get inside before the Walkers and that one lunatic Runner managed to reach them. And when Liz settled Maka in the backseats, pressing a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, grabbing the headrest of the seat to keep herself steady, ignoring the way the car jumped and the way her head hit the roof with every one of them, she came to the solid conclusion that if these two didn't get themselves killed because of their recklessness, they'd get themselves killed for each other.

But maybe that's what had kept them alive for so long.


	2. Chapter 2

**Radar  
by.** _Poisoned Scarlett_

She awakened to the familiar sounds of an engine, the hiss of air through an open window. She shifted and stifled a groan when her neck gave a nasty jolt. The next time she moved, she did it slowly to avoid disturbing the kink. But by the time she managed to turn on her side and push herself up, Liz was leaning between the two front seats asking her if she wanted something to drink.

"What…where are we going?" Maka cleared her throat, squinting to look at the road ahead of them. The freeway was completely empty, she realized with astonishment, and when she looked to her right she realized it was because they were on the _wrong side _of it. They were driving up the _incoming _side, not the _outgoing_, which was littered with stalled cars and corpses. There was scarcely any vehicles on the side they were on and Maka knew it was because one would have to be mad to try to enter a city that was overrun with the undead.

"The border," Soul informed, glancing at her through the rear view mirror. She couldn't read anything in his gaze and she liked to think it was because mirrors distorted certain things, _emotions_, but it was a silly thought. She couldn't read anything because he was blocking her out again and Maka didn't like that one bit. "You've been out since yesterday."

She stilled, her lips parting. _Yesterday? _Did that mean—did she completely sleep through her—?

"Happy birthday!" Liz blurted out, pasting on a grin. Maka could see right through it and she was sure Soul could, too, if he had been looking. "We—we made a pit-stop earlier and I got you this!" Liz disappeared for a second, rummaging through a plastic bag that had been kept by her feet, but when she reappeared she was holding a green box. Upon further inspection, Maka realized it was apple pie. "I know it's not a cake," Liz began when she saw the doe-eyed look, "but it's a little hard to get a real birthday cake during a zombie apocalypse so—this is okay, right? You're not allergic or apples or anything, right? Because that would be really…really bad," she faltered when Maka just stared at the box. "Um…"

"…Thank you," Maka managed to say, her eyes stinging. She wanted to cry, but that was just childish. Why would she cry? Because she missed her birthday, she had turned the monumental age of eighteen, and the last 'normal' thing she did was cook a meal in a dilapidated, abandoned, house in the middle of _somewhere? _It was probably because, despite the total collapse of anything relatively sane, birthday's were fixed events. Although they landed on different days of the week, they were certain, and Maka was glad to say that she survived to be eighteen.

She survived this long.

She was still alive.

One bite later and she was _still alive._

"You okay, Maka?" Liz asked, softly.

Maka snapped out of it and rubbed the back of her hand under her eyes to stop the coming torrent of tears. She made sure not to look at the rear view mirror. "Y-yeah, I'm okay. No, apple is fine. It's actually my favorite!"

Liz perked up, a smile brightening her eyes. "That's great! I'd give you some right now but—maybe later, you look really dehydrated. Here, we got this from a gas station a few miles back. It's actually cold, can you believe it? Well, colder than usual," Liz laughed and handed her a bottle.

Maka drank it all in a single chug, barley looking sated._  
_

"Want another?" Liz offered.

Maka nodded feverishly.

Soul concentrated on his hands, the way they gripped the wheel to keep them steady. He let his eyes trace down paler skin and it made a knot jump up to his throat. He had been tan once, from days spent outside playing basketball or basking in the sun at a park. Now doing either was a call for death and he couldn't help but think that he'd give anything to have those days back. Maka, she liked to take strolls in parks. She told him once, when they had been at that abandoned house, that she liked to walk through parks and find good spots to read. Maybe she had passed by him once and hadn't even noticed. Then he thought, how? How could someone like her go right over his head? How could he _overlook_ someone like her? Maybe it was her uniform—maybe his eyes just skipped right past her when they locked on the green-stripped tie that belonged to anyone who attended high school. Maybe that had been it, or maybe he had just been blind to most things all those months ago—practically a year ago.

Because Maka, Maka meant _so much_ to him now.

He couldn't quite wrap his mind around the fact that if this catastrophe hadn't happened, he might not have met her at all. She was such an admirable person—she was everything he had looked for in girls and never found. He had always been sourly disappointed with girls, so cynical, yet she had been _there all along_, hidden in plain sight, _there _and he had never noticed her. So he was torn between two things—wanting his old life back but liking this new one better.

His friends might've been right: he might be a sadist, a masochist, if he was truly considering taking his words back and resigning himself to this violent new life. This new world offered a relief for mad, violent, urges he had never known he had and there were times when he found himself slipping, losing it, actually taking some sick joy in it, but then there was Maka, gripping his shoulder, leaning him away from the cadavers and smiling at him, asking him if he was okay and if she needed to step in because he looked a little strange. She anchored him. He had realized this when they were still in the group, after a raid of a local pharmacy. _She kept him sane_, god, she _helped _him without even knowing.

So when she got bit, his thought was she needed to live. That was it, it was nothing hard, she just needed to _live_. He would do anything to help her so he had.

His grip on the wheel tightened.

And he would _keep_ her alive, no matter the odds. As Maka chugged down a third bottle of water, he accepted that he really _would_ do whatever it took to keep her safe. This meant getting her across that border. Kid had told them that it was better over there, that they had full communities of people living together and getting through this world-wide catastrophe, but that was weeks ago. Situations, Soul knew only too well, changed. Things changed.

They were not set in stone.

Nothing was.

But for now they clung onto that hope. Soul, being ever the realist he was, would not squash it despite believing otherwise. He hadn't reached that level of cruelty yet and he hoped he never would. He counted on Maka for that just as she counted on him to watch her back.

"You still look sixteen!" Liz teased.

"I know," Maka mumbled, her cheeks heating up.

"Ugh, but that's so good! You age so well, Maka, seriously, I look like I'm twenty eight!"

"How old _are_ you?"

"Twenty three," she mumbled, sulkily.

"You don't look twenty eight, you look your age," Maka honestly said.

"I don't know if that's better or worse," she groaned in reply. She glanced at Soul and asked, "Do I look twenty three? Or twenty eight?"

"You look fifty."

Liz's mouth dropped in outrage. "I look _WHAT?_"

"You heard me."

"Soul, quit being a jerk! She doesn't look fifty—you don't look fifty, Liz, he's just being a jerk," Maka pacified Liz, who bristled at being called _fifty._ Fifty, she didn't even want to _think_ about being fifty! So old, so many wrinkles! She could only imagine how many more she had acquired since this zombie-catastrophe happened. Liz whimpered.

"_Soul!_" Maka hissed.

"Whatever, you look twenty eight."

"SOUL!"

"What?" He complained. "Isn't that how old she is?"

"I'm twenty _three_, asshole."

"Alright, then, you look twenty three."

"No, you're just saying that!"

Soul resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Why the hell am I even apart of this conversation? I'm _driving!_"

"Please, it's not like there's any cars for you to crash into," Liz scoffed. "And running over people is actually a _good_ thing now!" She sank in her seat, arms crossed over her chest, clearly ignoring him. Soul could barely be bothered. He didn't apologize, Maka saw quietly, he did nothing but twisted his mouth in a sneer before his face blanked out again. She played with the cap of her bottle of water for a few minutes, watching the sun gradually lower on the horizon, and when it completely sunk behind the hills, Liz was open for conversation again.

"It's not like you're missing out on a lot, seriously, when I turned eighteen, it wasn't anything new," she rambled, stretching and cracking her back. Soul drove on silently. "I did everything I wasn't supposed to and it was the same thing when I turned twenty-one. Like, wow, twenty one, great, now I can drink alcohol _without_ being arrested!"

Maka smiled as she spoke. She looked down at her lap, wishing she had been that adventurous when she was younger. "I grew up differently than you, so I've never done much…" She fidgeted, feeling her face heat up. "I…I didn't go out much when I was younger."

"You were practically sheltered," Soul cut in, finally speaking after hours of silence. His voice was rough. "Plus, you're a nerd, so it'd ruin your image of you did any of that!"

"I am _not_ a nerd!"

"Yes, you are, you told me you asked for extra work sheets!"

"That was only when I didn't understand the material!"

"Yeah, so what if you don't? Move on with your life!"

"No, because then I wouldn't be able to pass the test! I needed the practice!"

"A _C_ is a pass," he challenged and Liz watched Maka fire right up and regain the vitality she had lacked since the incident at the house. She smiled a bit, liking when Maka was the spit-fire she was known to be, and looked out the window to the forest that ran in blurs of dark greens before her eyes. There was nothing nearby, she was sure, so they'd probably just sleep in the car for the night…

"…and you're a lazy ass!"

"Never said I _wasn't_," Soul grinned when Maka bristled like a cat. If she had claws, they'd be out right now.

"I hate to interrupt," Liz spoke up, pointing out the window. "But the suns going down. Are we going to keep going or are we going to stop for the night?"

Maka peered out the window while Soul spoke, "I'll go on for another five miles and then I'll stop. From what I saw on the map, there's nothing around here for another fifty miles. Maps outdated, though, so I don't want to stop near a place where there were people," he said and Liz nodded, troubled.

People meant the undead; it didn't mean safety anymore.

"There's a car over there!" Maka pointed out. "Maybe we can find some supplies inside! It looks empty!"

"I can probably siphon some gas out of it, too," Soul eyed it as he slowed down, coming to a complete stop a few steps away from it. Liz was the first one to open the door. The instant she did, she took a breath of the air, inhaling nothing but the scent of pine and earth. The air was clean here, it did not hold that poignant scent of decay like the city did. Liz hadn't even realized just how fresh the air could smell until now.

"Hey, Liz, you think you can open the car without breaking a window?" Soul asked, rummaging in the trunk of their SUV. Maka had opened the door at this time but didn't step out: she just let her feet hang out and she kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings.

"Of course I can! I was made for this stuff," she smirked but it turned out she needn't do much else except open doors. They were all unlocked and, when Liz poked her head inside, full of hastily packed supplies. She dug through a few boxes, coming up with some clothing and toiletries. In another box there were some canned goods, something that Liz grabbed with both hands and pulled out because food was always necessary. There was another box that held keepsakes and Liz wisely kept her hands out of it, knowing nothing good came from looking through the belongings of people who were probably dead now—or _un_dead, if you were optimistic.

As Liz scoured for things of use, Soul rounded the car to reach the passengers side. He leaned against the flank of the car as Maka let her feet bounce up and down idly. She shifted her eyes to him and he looked at her, offering a halfhearted smile.

"You alright, pigtails?"

"Mhm," she smiled up at him. "What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm good. You had us worried there, when you wouldn't wake up," he said wryly. Maka grinned apologetically and he ruffled her hair in reply. She didn't fight him this time. She just made a noise in the back of her throat but let him muss her hair as he had grown to do. "Sorry."

"What for?"

"What happened at the house," he said and she reached up to hold his hand, offering some comfort. "Usually me or Liz stay behind to watch out but this time, I dunno', I thought we were safe."

"Remember what Stein told us before we left?" Maka reminded. "To always assume the worst case scenario?"

Soul chuckled. "That wasn't the worst case scenario, Maka."

"What was the worst case scenario?" She asked, curiously. He turned to her and bent down, his hand falling from the top of her head to the curve of her cheek. He could feel it warm underneath his palm and he smiled rather forlornly. He knew she could read the answer in his eyes before he even said anything:

"You dead," he said, eyes downcast. "I don't know how many times I can save you from being dead before you actually die. I can't take any more risks like I did back there. You might be vaccinated and, to an extent, immune, but that's just a theory. Kid said not to knock it so I'm not going to," he promised softly, pressing his forehead against hers. "You're still a little weak from the treatment."

"Not that weak!" Maka argued. "I ran two miles from the house all by myself, I think that's an accomplishment!"

A grin quirked his lips. "Yeah, and then you slept the entire day!"

Her cheeks pinked. "S-so! That doesn't mean anything, it only means that I finally caught up with my sleep!"

His eyes softened. He wouldn't win even if he tried to argue. "Sure, but don't do that again. You might not wake up next time," and then he pressed a kiss to her lips. She was caught off-guard, as she always was when he kissed her. But it was when he slanted his mouth against hers and deepened the kiss that she realized just how long it had been since he last kissed her. Since they were at the CDC with Kid, actually, all those weeks ago. She didn't know how much she ached for this until now. She didn't waste time running her hands down his chest, sliding them beneath his jacket to grab the back of his shirt. She was the first to part his lips with her tongue, to invade his mouth and earn a groan from him, to let her hands reach the hem of his shirt and lift it up a little, letting her fingers trail up the strong expanse of his back. He was warm and her hands felt cold against his skin.

His hand gripped the top of the door tightly, his other one squeezing her shoulder before it ventured lower, until it reached the soft swell of her breasts. Maka was the one who pushed his hand towards her breast and bit back a moan when he groped one of her soft mounds, his thumb rubbing her nipple until it hardened. She pulled him down a little more, their mouths moving furiously, her fingers gripping the waistband of his jeans as he reached beneath her shirt to grab a handful of her perky breast, soft and warm and everything he had ever wanted.

"Hey, Soul, I found some ammunition!" Liz's far-away voice cut jolted him back from his lust-driven thoughts. Soul and Maka parted breathlessly, their eyes lidded and their gazes sultry. She immediately lowered her shirt and he hastily leaned back, licking his lips and trying to calm the painful erection that had made itself known during their heated kissing. Long time coming, he thought wearily, she was already eighteen, there was no other excuse he could use to hold back although he was still hesitant to take her, the fact that she was more than ready notwithstanding. The first problem came with contraception, which he didn't have, and the _second_ problem was approaching him, actually, her long blonde hair catching in the wind in that melodramatic way it always did. He liked to think she did it on purpose; Liz was vain in that way.

"I'm going to—to take out the blankets," Maka mumbled. He coughed back a weak _right, you do that_, and left her to her own devices.

"They've got some rifles in the trunk," Liz said as she met him halfway, handing him one along with a box of bullets. "One of them is jammed and the other one is out of bullets, should I take them anyway?"

"I don't think taking the jammed one would do us much good," Soul said as he loaded up the rifle. "It'd be dead weight, just take what works. We've still got to prepare for the night."

"It seems pretty dead around here," Liz commented, looking around again.

"Yeah, it seemed pretty dead at the house, too, and look what happened," he grimly reminded. She gave him a halfhearted shrug and went back to pick up the box of things she had gathered. When Soul returned to Maka, finding her folding up some blankets in the back seat, he nudged her gently with the butt of the rifle. She took it with a hum of surprise, looking at him.

"Put this in the back—actually, just keep it close to you. Here," he handed her a box of bullets as well and this time her look was understanding and solemn. "It's kinda' like a bat, if you think about it," he humored and she smiled just a tiny bit. It was enough to soften her eyes and make her prettier than she already was. Maka had a very pretty smile. "Just don't go swinging it at me and we're cool."

"No promises," she answered.

"Is that how you play? Kinky," he smirked and she smiled back, her lips curling at the ends with naughty knowing.

"I don't see you complaining. In fact, I'd say you kind of like it, since you keep coming back for more, " she answered slyly and he had a good come back for that, he _really_ did, and he would have said it if Liz hadn't elbowed the back of his head and grinned at them both.

"Cut the flirting, you two, we've got some anti-zombie reinforcements to install!" She laughed and rounded the car to reach the trunk.

Soul rubbed the back of his head and looked at Maka. "I'll get you back for that."

"Don't make me wait too long," she replied and crawled back into the backseat before her sly suggestion set in. But when it did, he whipped his head to her and then back to Liz's wise-ass grin. He scowled, feeling as if he were the butt of a joke, and grabbed the tank of gas so he could at the very least siphon some gasoline from the cars before they hit the hay.

"You're both out to get me," he mumbled before he left.

"You keep 'em tight, Maka," Liz grinned as she rummaged through the back of the car, looking for her favorite handgun. When she found it, she went to making sure the bars they had installed to protect the windows were sturdy. "It's always nice to wind them up a few times before letting 'em _loose_," she winked and shut the door, Maka's furiously flushed face making her chuckle more.

Maka placed a blanket over her lap, smiling to herself. This was it; this was what she missed. It was no use trying to stay away from the very thing that was keeping her alive. That rigidness was still there, lurking beneath his touches, but it wasn't so apparent anymore. She wanted him close to her, close enough that their fingers touched at every instant and she could feel his skin against hers. If she could not keep him alive for much longer, she wanted to be with him for as long as possible. If they were both going to die anyway, she wanted to make sure she died with as much of him in her heart as possible. Maka almost lost him, and he almost lost her twice. This was not a time to be picky. She needed to appreciate her time with him before he was gone, before Liz was gone, before everyone was gone.

Maka hoped they would last until she turned nineteen.


	3. Chapter 3

**Radar  
by. **_Poisoned Scarlett_

It was late and dark but the night was alive with wilderness.

Maka thought about how Soul always knew when danger was imminent. At first she thought he simply had a knack for sensing these things before she realized he took her advice on silence seriously. He used the silence better than she did, however. He could tell regular silence from irregular silence, the type that permeated through the area and clogged your ears. Six times out of ten it was exactly what they were thinking, but it was those other four times that could drive a person mad.

"Hey," Soul whispered suddenly, scaring her terribly. He knocked his knuckle on the glass of the window and she glared at him. She been more than ready to grab her gun, which was on the floor of the car but always in range of her hand. "Shut up, idiot, you'll wake up Liz!"

"What are you even _doing_ here?" Maka hissed, crawling over to open the door. He crept inside, shutting the car door as quietly as he could. He winced when it clicked closed but, upon peering at the van Liz had decided to crash in, he found no movement. The usual sounds of nature continued and Soul breathed easy for now.

"I found something you might be interested in," Soul told her, reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket. He pulled out a white Kindle and handed it to her with a crooked grin, reading the awe and delight when he told her the battery was practically full. She turned it on immediately and browsed through the selection, her smile widening with every book she scrolled past. "Good thing the person who owned this was a total bookworm like you, eh?"

"Where did you find this?" She asked excitedly, continuing her browse of the books.

"In the car," he thumbed to the vehicle he had crashed in, the one at the very edge to ensure he was the first to know if the undead were close. "Couldn't sleep so I went through some boxes in the back..."

"It was in a box?"

"Nah, I dropped my lighter and found it under the seat. Thought you'd like to see it as soon as possible," he grinned at her and she bounced excitedly in her seat, pointing at the screen when she recognized one of her favorite titles. She rattled on about the book enthusiastically and his grin became a soft smile. He had not seen her this happy or excited in a long time. It was nice to see her smile again like that. "Happy birthday, by the way," he offered and she paused her tirade, looking up at him with bright eyes.

"Mm, thanks!" She turned off the Kindle. "It's funny, I don't feel any older!"

"Yeah, that happens a lot," he offered halfheartedly. Soul looks out the window, the pocket in his jacket weighing. Liz had done her fair share of rummaging and had come across something very peculiar in her scavenge. She had dropped a few of her treasures in his hand earlier, winked and told him to have a good time. "Listen, Maka—!"

"Soul—!"

They stopped, looking at each other.

"You go first," he cleared his throat.

"No, you, yours sounded more important," she squeaked and looked down at her lap, red creeping down her neckline. The question that had been on the tip of her tongue could not be anymore inappropriate than his, for sure. It was a ridiculous request, anyway, and certainly nothing she should be thinking about in the middle of a crisis.

"You have to hear me out first, alright?" He began, before anything. He knew her well enough to know that a warning was always a good way to go about these things. She nodded in reply, attentive to what he had to say. "Earlier I was doing some rummaging in the other cars," he lied, deciding that telling Maka that Liz had a very good idea of what could happen would not be good for her heart. "And I found something."

"…What is it?"

Soul dug around in his pocket, pulling out a square foil-package that had her staring. He didn't meet her eyes as he said, "I know, before, I promised you something for your birthday that wasn't fair at the time but, if you want…" He winced at his own awkwardness. This had gone a lot smoother in his head. "I just want to tell you that we can now, but it's completely up to you and if you feel up for it. I don't wanna' force you into something you don't want, s'not cool, and—!" Soul stopped when he felt her hand on his, her fingers wiggling into the cracks of his fingers to touch the package.

She wet her lips and took the condom from his hand. Everything seemed amplified, the forest noises and his breathing. Maka told herself to relax and looked up at Soul, who looked back calmly. He was not forcing her into anything, not trying anything, he was leaving it up to her. Though she knew Soul would never force her into anything, she was still hesitant about it. She had been daydreaming about it earlier, had dreamt about it often enough, and had tasted enough of his mouth to yearn for more. But it was still nerve-wracking, once the opportunity arose.

"Don't hurt yourself thinking, Maka," Soul ruffled her hair and let his thumb caress her cheek when she jerked back, wide-eyed. "I just wanted to let you know. Alright?" She nodded quickly and he crooked a smile. "Alright, cool. Night." He managed to grab the door, ready to push it open as silently as possible to escape back to his car, when he felt her hand grab the back of his jacket.

"No, wait," she tugged him back. He complied, whispering her name questioningly, and tensed only for a second when she crawled up his lap and took hold of his cheek. She waited a second, looking into his eyes timidly once, before closing them and pressing her mouth against his, her legs bending around his waist comfortably. "You promised," she murmured against his lips. "Don't break your promise." She felt his smile as he kissed her, his body hot beneath hers. His hands held her back and ran down it until they reached the waist of her jeans. He slipped a finger under the waistband and spread his legs a little more, groaning into her mouth when she ran her hands down his chest. He tucked her hair behind her ears, tongue reacquainting itself with hers as his hands explored the new areas of her body available to him.

Maka clutched the condom in her hand as his hands traveled up her back. Her fingers trembled and her skin ached to the touch, his touch. Maka parted from him enough to suck in a breath but he turned his attention to her neck, leaving open mouthed kisses that made her heart quiver. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled them over his shoulders. He wasted no time flinging it aside, lifting his arms so she could remove his shirt. His hands gripped her sides, moved up to cup her perky breasts. Soul kissed her collarbone, panting against her skin as she began to voice the faintest of moans.

Maka had never felt so suffocated by her clothes in her entire life. There was a terrible ache between her thighs, one that she could barely relieve by squirming, and every time his fingers rubbed into her skin, she felt like whining. Maka pulled her shirt up and he helped her out of it, his eyes immediately taking in the perky breasts she had taunted him with for so long. He licked the corner of his lip and pulled down a cup of her bra, licking her pert nipple into his mouth and pausing when she sharply moaned and dug her fingers into his hair.

"Not good?" he murmured against her chest, massaging her breast.

She shuddered. "No...no, keep going, it's good..."

Maka angled her head to watch him suck on her breast, lick the swell of them before he moved onto its twin. She reached behind her to undo the back of her bra but the stretch allowed for more room and Soul massaged her breast again, leaving marks with each suck of his lips. He enjoyed the tiny whimpers she released with every suck, every time the pad of his finger rubbed her nipple. Maka flung her bra aside and grabbed him by his neck, tracing her tongue over the dull edges of his teeth.

A crinkle brought her attention back to the condom wrapper in her hand, as well as the prod of his cock against her thigh. Maka dared to grind her hips into his, a delighted gasp that quickly melted into a groan of his name encouraging him to jerk his hips up to hers. She bit her lip, grinding into his lap again and feeling her panties stick to her, slide and moisten even more from her excitement. She whimpered his name and he held her hips, guiding her hips against his steadily.

"Maka," he husked, letting his tongue flick her nipple as she acquired a rhythm. He hoped the car would not make too much noise, as he rocked against her hips a little faster. His fingers dug into her skin, hard, and she raked her nails down his bare shoulder. "_Fu—!" _He shut his eyes, willing himself not to lose his load so soon. They were hardly anywhere; he had to hold out. He also had to be quiet. With a steady breath, he wrapped his arm around her waist and turned them on their side.

She understood what he wanted and laid on her back, the rest of the door digging into her neck. But she managed to wiggle her leg out from between them, inviting him between her. Once he was settled, the bulge in his pants even more prominent now that he was facing her, she handed him the condom.

He took it, pressing his forehead against hers. "You sure?" he asked softly, nipping the corner of her mouth.

"Mhm," she hummed back, stroking his cheek with her hand again. "I'm ready." Soul helped her out of her skirt, her panties, and she helped wiggle his pants down his hips until he could kick them off. The car was hot, the windows fogging with their combined heat. His boxers, as she looked down the stretch of her stomach, were tented and what threatened to spring out from under them made her throat tight and a groan rise up. "Soul," she pleaded, squeezing his waist with her legs.

"_Calm down, you're making too much noise,_" he rushed against her skin, kissing her again. He gently rocked against her, their kiss becoming wet and rough the more he teased the spot of her that made urgency wind tight in her gut. Every pass had her moaning, whimpering his name because the pleasure was unbearable yet sweet. Maka stroked his back, letting her nails scrape down his skin gently until he thrust particularly hard into her. She felt that one, how the head of his cock had slipped between her folds through the fabric of his boxers. It made the wait more excruciating, with the heat in her belly reaching new levels.

"Soul, what are you waiting for," she whispered, lidded eyes meeting his dark ones. "Get inside me," she exhaled around a kiss, licking her way back into his mouth. His hand grabbed her thigh, tightening her leg around his waist, and he bucked hard, a motion that had her gasping out a moan. Maka's hand gripped the edge of the seat in shock, not believing that such pleasure could be derived from such a simple action. "S-Soul," she gasped, rolling her hips against his. Sweat beaded on her forehead, the base of her neck, the car had suddenly become sweltering.

Soul cursed and hastily pulled down his boxers, tearing the edge of the condom wrapper with his teeth. Maka's eyes widened when she finally saw his length, watched as he leaned back enough to roll the condom over it. Her hand reached out but she paused and pressed it against her chest, timid. He stopped his rustling when he noticed and looked up at her.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just…" She fumbled, looking away shyly and squeezing her hand into a fist. "Nothing."

He noticed her hand, fisted by her side, and then his eyes looked down at his cock, which was up in attention. He made the connection quick enough. He reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly when she tried to jerk back. A slight smile graced his features when she darted her eyes back to him shyly. He guided her hand down, teeth grinding enough to hurt when her fingers grazed over him and then took hold of him.

Maka was fascinated, letting a finger run up to the head. It was a lot different than what she had imagined or seen on the web, those times inappropriate ads would pop up on the sides in websites. She let her finger trance down his shaft, marveled how hard yet soft he felt. She squeezed a little more and earned herself a strangled croak of her name. Maka flicked her eyes up at him, the veins that bulged on his neck and how his eyes had taken on a darker quality, with a desire that made her heart pound and her skin crawl pleasantly. She gave his member one last jerk before letting go, grabbing his shoulder as he swooped down to bring her into a searing kiss.

"I'll let you play with me later," he whispered against her lips, grinning at the noise she made in her throat. "We'd have to wait if I let you blow my load right now."

"How long?" She asked, kissing the side of his neck.

"I'd say," he buried his nose in her neck, a hand stroking her hair. "Like half an hour or so."

"That's too long," she giggled when he scoffed. She rose her hips to meet his and she shut her eyes tightly when she felt him slide between her folds. She moaned as he rolled his hips, tossing her head back when he let the head of his cock tease her clit a few times. "Oh...oh, _Soul!_" She shuddered, her hips bucking up against her will.

Soul licked the shell of her ear, reaching down to position himself at her entrance. He whispered a _ready? _and waited for her breathless _yes_ before pushing in, his hand grabbing her thigh as he pushed himself in a little more before pulling out, pushing back in and out again, and with one final push he was buried inside of her, the sensation making both roll their eyes back in pleasure.

"You fine?"

"Mhm," she winced, adjusting to his girth. It was easier than she thought it would be. "Move."

The leather of the seat hurt every time he rocked against her but the sting was welcomed, something that made her moan louder. She would urge him on every time he bucked up into her, hitting a spot that made her cry out his name. Loudly, she realized belatedly, when he covered her mouth with his own and whispered to be _quiet_. But she couldn't help it; it felt amazing, he was amazing, and she did not think something so simple could be so complex, so intimidate and invigorating all at the same time. She could not understand how people could sell this, use this, and _do_ this without any emotion at all.

She felt so close to him, closer than she had ever felt to a person. She felt exposed, not just physically but spiritually, and she had never felt so okay with it. Maka bit his shoulder to stifle her cries, and she shut her eyes and let the urgency build up in her gut. She let it build and build until she was frantically meeting his thrusts, digging her nails painfully into his arm and saying his name with sharp, quick breaths; whines, as she came close, so _close_—

"_Ah—AH!" _She cried, biting her lip and knocking her head back on the car window. She felt no pain. She called his name, the sound sweet and breathless and _high_, mixing in with another gasp and cry as he continued to rock against her, the tightness of her walls making him see lights in his vision. His thrusts became rougher and he came a few seconds after her, his groan of release low and husky and doing things to her pounding heart. With a few more pumps he was spent and he slumped a little on her, both breathing hard but feeling lighter than they had felt in months.

Maka opened her eyes to look at him, finding his own closed but his face smoothed of any worries. She cleared her throat, whispering his name. "Can we move?" Maka asked with a sheepish smile. "My neck…really hurts."

"Oh, right, my bad," he fumbled, pulling her up. He hissed, still inside of her, and she let out one of the most sensual moans in his ear when she settled herself in his lap, rolling her hips against his suggestively. Soul felt himself harden again, if possible, his heart starting to pump faster as she bucked her hips against his in a silent question.

"Half an hour," he wheezed.

"That's too long!" She complained, squeezing his hips. Her forehead met his and she placed her hands on his flushed cheeks, smiling out, "_I thought you were kidding about that!_"

"If I had known you were going to be this needy, I would have never done this," he teased and kissed her when she pouted. Fortunately for her, there was something about the way she looked at him, that curl of her sweet smile that could just as easily become naughty, which made his cock harden all over again. Refractory period be damned, it seemed, when Maka Albarn wanted something, she got it.

"M'lucky I've got another one," he muffled against her neck, grinning when she giggled and lifted herself enough for him to pull out of her. Another condom wrapper later and she was experiencing the side of sex that so many sold, so many bought and used. But she still couldn't understand how they could just ignore the intimacy of it, no matter how fun or naughty.

She couldn't understand just how close she felt to him, and how much closer she wanted to be still.

* * *

"We're here, right? This is it? We didn't get lost again, did we?" Liz asked the next day, shielding her eyes against the sun. She turned back to them, her lips pursed and her eyes hiding her anxiety poorly. "So, _where is everyone?"_

Maka let her eyes scan the surrounding area. She looked back at her map; they were at the right place, but it was practically deserted. There was no one around. The town was empty. They could see signs of a survivors fight in the way the entire town was surrounded by fences and furniture, traps that had been sprung by incoming undead. Some were still moving, their snarls white noise to them now. It was obvious to Maka that the town had been evacuated since everything had been left untouched. She even saw a balloon down the street, tied onto a lamppost.

"Something happened," Maka told her companions, stepping forward. She gripped her gun tightly, not about to take any chances. "That's why there's no one here."

"What're you saying, Maka…something happened?"

"You think there might have been a breach?" Soul asked. He couldn't see any break in their defenses. It had taken them awhile to climb over the fence they had put up. They had a pretty good set up; he couldn't see how an entire town would have needed to evacuate.

"Guess our first stop is a bust," Soul muttered, exhaling an annoyed sigh. It would still be another few days until they reached the border. If that turned out to be a bust as well, he did not want to thin k about how broken Maka would be. He refused to let his thoughts venture to such dark territories. There were reasons they were heading there, to the border. Their friends were there, alive, because he refused to think otherwise. He looked at Maka, her creased brow and the hard look in her eye. He could not afford to have _her_ think otherwise; he didn't think he would be able to go on without her smile.

"We might as well stock up on food," Soul said, already making his way to the first apartment complex he saw.

"W-wait, what do you mean, food?" Liz shouted, shaking in her boots. "You're going to go…_in there?"_

"Yeah," he rose his brow, not seeing the problem. "Do you see any food out here? If so, do tell."

Liz glared but it faltered when she looked back at the apartment. It was dark and ominous, making her gut drop to the ground at the thought of entering. She had never been very brave and, if she were completely honest, a zombie apocalypse like the one she was currently living in was something borne from her nightmares. Her sister had always been the brave one; perhaps she should have come instead of Liz. She would have been a lot more helpful than her, for sure.

"I'll go," Maka spoke up. Liz snapped her head to her in shock. She cocked her gun and looked at Soul, a smirk lifting her lips. "I'll make sure this idiot here doesn't hurt himself."

Soul smirked back, setting a hand on his waist. "Speak for yourself, bookworm. It's cool to be scared, I'll protect you."

"I think it's the other way around," Maka remarked, walking ahead. Soul watched her pass, his eyes darting down to the sway of her hips. "But if that helps you sleep at night, I won't pester you about it!"

He grinned and followed closely behind, his hand pressing against the small of her back.

Liz watched them go, gawking. "H-hey! Are you two just going to _leave me here_, by myself?"

"You'll be fine! You hear anything creepy, shoot it!" Soul shouted over his shoulder, disappearing into the complex with Maka.

"You JERKS!" Liz screeched, growling when she got no reply. "Great! _Just_ great! Now I'm…a-alone, with a bunch of corpses." She looked around her and gulped, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm not scared. I'm _not _scared!" She stood guard for a few more minutes, her nerves wound tight. She had yet to hear Soul or Maka use their gun, so that was good. But then again, they hardly used their guns because the sound attracted more of the undead. They usually used the guns themselves as weapons, bashing their skulls in and the such. It worked in their favor most times.

She heard movement and she turned sharply, raising her gun. The fence rattled behind her and she swiveled to it, her eyes widening when she spotted a Walker. She had been about to shoot it when she felt the barrel of a gun on her temple, the gruff voice accompanying it nearly making her drop to her knees in horror:

"Pull that trigger and you'll be sorry."

"Sid," another voice spoke, calmer than the first one. Liz was too terrified to move. "Stop. She's only a girl. She's not one of 'em."

"Drop the gun," he commanded. Liz did, swallowing when he still didn't remove the gun from her head. "Now, were you one of the residents of this town or do you belong to Giriko and his gang?"

"I…" Liz swallowed.

"Drop the gun," Soul ordered evenly and Liz would have turned had she not been absolutely certain that doing so would result in her brains on the concrete. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing with our friend?"

"Stop!" someone snapped, annoyed. Liz could not see her from where she stood; but she sounded a lot more reasonable than the man who had his gun pointed to her head. "Sid, you're causing a ruckus. She's harmless, she's not with Giriko! Look, listen, we do not mean any harm—!"

"Doesn't fucking look like it," Soul sneered. Liz heard Maka shush him and she hoped the girl would be able to talk reason into these people.

"Look, I think this is all a misunderstanding," Maka spoke up, her voice soothing. "We aren't from this town, nor do we knew anyone named Giriko. We just happened upon this town and found it this way. Are you two from around here?"

"No, we're just passing by as well," the woman responded. She turned back to the man and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sid, let it go. She's harmless."

Sid lowered his gun after a second and Liz immediately backed away from him, her hands shaking and her heart in her throat. She saw it was a pair, African American from what she could see, both dressed more like military officials than regular citizens. The man was tall, built in a way that told her he spent a lot of time in the gym, or perhaps out in the field, given the haunted, far-away look his eyes held. The woman was built similarly, but bandages covered half her face and the majority of her shoulders and torso. She wondered just how terribly scarred her face must have been for her to cover it up before Maka grabbed her arm and brought her close beside her.

"We are looking for someone, and we heard that he was in this town," the woman offered, lowering her gun. Soul kept his steady, not about to take a risk. He did not like how they had introduced themselves, less that they looked like they belonged in the military. They were still dressed as the military guards he remembered back in his hometown, before Wes succumbed to the disease. "But it seems deserted now. We assumed it was a gang that's been patrolling these parts for the last few months."

"So you assumed _we_ were apart of that gang?" Maka asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Sid nodded, speaking again. He sounded less intimidating this time around. "Yes. It would not have been the first time. We came by another town a few days ago that had been overrun by them. The leader of the gang goes by Giriko, from what we heard. They ransacked the entire place and killed a lot of people before some of the undead came in and made things worse. They scattered; we assumed they came here, too, and tried to do the same."

"I can't say that a gang ransacked this place," Maka said, steadily, "but I _can_ say that something caused the citizens to evacuate. It could be help from the northern border."

The pair shared a look then looked back to them. The woman spoke first. "I take it you all are not from around here, then?"

"No," Soul spoke this time, finally lowering his gun. "We're heading north."

"In that case," the woman's eyes crinkled and Maka saw that it meant she was smiling. "I'm Nygus, and this is my husband, Sid. We—!"

"No way," Soul suddenly said, his eyes widening.

"Soul?" Maka whispered, concerned.

He stared at them, mouth parted. "Barrett? Nygus and Sid Barrett?"

Sid's brows creased. "Yes, that's us. How did you know?"

"Holy shit," Soul gawked, more mind blown than anything. "You're Black Star's parents!"

"Black Star?" Maka gasped. "Th-they're his parents? Are you sure?"

"What's going on?" Liz piped, thoroughly confused. She had no idea who these people were, but her companions seemed to know them? She figured it had something to do with the group Soul and Maka had been with previously. The name sounded familiar.

"You know where our son is?" Nygus gasped, voice strained. She stepped forward, but Sid held her back. He had his eye on Soul's lowered gun, his finger still on the trigger. "Do you know where he is? Is he safe?"

Soul shook his head, his features becoming grim. "We haven't heard from him in a few months. We used to be a group along with a few others, but Maka…" He glanced at her. She nodded. Soul gestured to Maka with his chin, looking at the pair. "Maka was bit so I left them to find a cure for her."

"It's impossible. She was bit; you couldn't have saved her!" Sid roughly said, his eyes hard.

"I'm immune," Soul told him evenly. He saw Nygus cover her mouth, her eyes wide. He held her husbands skeptical eyes, however. "There was still two scientists left in the CDC in Nevada. They managed to conceive a vaccine using my blood and it was…_tested_, on Maka," he reluctantly admitted. Maka only smiled, reaching over to grab his hand. "She survived so it works."

"Th-that's why we're going to the border!" Liz spoke up, not wanting to stand around dumbly. "We're going to deliver the vaccine and put a stop to all of this madness!"

"And meet up with our friends, which includes Black Star," Maka added. If Soul had felt safe to divulge such information to these people, then Maka would trust his judgment. Soul would never purposely place them in danger. She held to that belief. "We're heading the same way, we just stopped here to pick up some supplies."

"Lots of supplies," Sid commented, turning his gaze to the building they had come out of. "No people, though, or corpses."

"This had nothing to do with the undead, the girls right," Nygus spoke up, contemplative. "Either they evacuated the town because they found help elsewhere or they were chased out by Giriko's gang. However, judging how there are still goods in the buildings, it could not have been an attack by them. So they all just up and left..."

"So that means…" Soul left off.

"They were formally evacuated," Sid told them, rubbing the back of his neck. "Looks like something the military would do, by the looks of it. Hasty job, but if you look to the shops," he pointed, "all of their merchandise, all of the goods, are gone as well. So what's left over is what was inside the buildings, and what was too heavy to be carried on their person."

Soul noticed Sid did the same thing that Black Star did when he was puzzled, and this only made him more somber. He was sure the prick was alive, but where he could not be sure. If they heard that Black Star had been in this town before then that meant the others were with him, too. Could it be they had officially relocated to the northern border? Currently that was the only place that was safe from the undead menace.

"We should get going," Nygus looked toward the sky. "We could make to the border in two days time if we don't take anymore stops." She looked at the trio, her eyes calculating. Then she looked at Soul. "You knew my son, were you his friend?"

"Met him when we were back in Nevada, we formed a group," Soul gruffly told them. He smirked. "Wouldn't call him exactly call him my friend, he was always challenging my title as leader."

Nygus laughed softly. "That sounds like our son."

"Ahh, even in a crisis, he's still a pain in the ass," Sid sighed, smile fond. "You guys walk here?"

"Car," Maka clarified.

Sid nodded. "Same. I know we came off as rough, but would you consider traveling with us? We're both heading the same way, and we're just trying to look for our son. There's no use traveling in the same direction separately during these times."

"Not with someone like Giriko," Nygus added quietly.

Soul looked at Maka for guidance, and she only offered him a slight smile. "They're his parents," she told him softly. "I think we should travel with them. Black Star would never forgive us if we left them like that."

"They seem more than capable of handling themselves on their own," Soul muttered, skeptical. He looked into Maka's eyes and his frown deepened. "I don't want to be responsible for anymore people than I need."

"Like you said, they can handle themselves. We'd be traveling together, but they can help us out if we're in need. Didn't you tell me once that Black Star's parents were military? They have skills that we don't, and if there are gang members around these areas, we _need_ those skills," Maka told him rationally, setting her hands on her hips. They held each others eyes and eventually Soul caved, forcing his sights back to Nygus and her husband. He shoved a hand in his pocket, gesturing to the place. "We're cool with that, but first we have to stock up on supplies."

Nygus nodded. "We can help. We were taking a rest in a cottage a few minutes from here, then decided to check this place out."

"Why not just stay here?" Liz asked, curiously. "I mean, there's a bed here and it's a lot more comfortable and—!"

"Dangerous," Nygus cut her off. "It's not the dead you have to worry about now. It's the living." She looked at Sid, nodding to the building. "Well? What are you standing around for? You scared that girl half to death, _you're_ going to go look for some supplies!"

"Wha—?! But, Nygus!"

"Go!" Nygus snapped and Sid gave her one last hopeless look before he grumbled over to the trio, nodding his head down a few buildings.

"We'll go with Sid," Maka decided, turning to her friend. "Liz, you can either hang around here or—!"

"I'll go with Nygus!" Liz quickly said, flashing a grin at her. Maka blinked but nodded. "And take care of the, um, vaccine and stuff! You three go right ahead! Be careful!" She spared Sid a glance before scurrying over to Nygus, who cocked her head at her but allowed her to follow her back to their vehicle.

"I didn't scare her _that_ bad, did I?" Sid frowned.

Soul gave him a smirk. "She's more afraid of walking dead people. C'mon, I saw a pantry full of canned food in an apartment on the second floor. That should be more than enough for the next few days."

As Sid and Soul headed inside, Maka looked at the sky.

She hoped all of her friends were safe but, most of all, she hoped _Akane _was safe.


	4. Chapter 4

**Radar  
by. **_Poisoned Scarlett_

"Be very quiet," Nygus' lips barely moved as she said this, her footsteps absolutely silent as they moved through the forest grounds. They used the forest to their advantage, Soul saw, blending in with the dirt and shrubbery as if they were nature themselves. Sid made no noise, his finger on the trigger as his eyes stared stonily at the group of rowdy men a few yards off. Nygus made even less noise; it was as if she were not there, only a ghost walking over the land.

They had everything set and packed. Sid and Nygus had suggested they return to the abandoned cottage they had found in the forest for their own supplies, only to discover it had been broken into by the gang they had been looking out for. From there, Nygus and Sid had taken control, and Soul had no problem letting them call the shots when it came to a gang of rogues who would shoot a cottage until it was all holes, no cover.

"Oh, no, look!" Liz whispered in outrage, clenching her fist when one of the men shook out a bag and stomped on it once he realized there was nothing of value inside. "They're going through all your things! Should we...should we tell them to stop?"

"No," Nygus murmured, staring at the group. "Everything that matters is on me." She was not focused on the gangly teenager going through her things, however, but rather the one looking over him from above. She recognized him, the monster with the piercings and tattoos they called Giriko. He was sitting on the roof of his truck, sand blonde hair matted and dirty, his arms covered in what seemed like thick rubber gloves. They were big on him, making his arms seem longer than normal, but judging by the black streaks that stained the gloves, they served their purpose. It would be hard to bite through that industrial rubber. He was not all gears for brains after all, Nygus thought as she moved away from the tree and crouched next to Sid.

"We didn't have anything important in there except clothes and some minor supplies," Sid told them. He shifted when the truck's headlights came on, keeping his eyes locked on the rogues. "We had some medical supplies, too, which was what we really wanted. But picking a fight for the hell of it isn't the type of man I am," he told them all with a slanted smile. "Let's—!" he was cut off by shouting, vulgar curses that grew steadily louder and more violent.

"Stay down," Nygus quickly ordered.

"What's happening?" Maka whispered, squeezing Soul's arm. She set her teeth when two men started to shove each other, their voices growing rapidly. That man that sat on the roof of the truck did nothing more but look on, drinking out of what looked like a canteen. He seemed amused, and Maka really wanted to know what was so funny about two men threatening to feed each other to Walkers. "They're too loud; they're going to bring in Walkers if they don't stop!"

"Watch," Nygus quietly said.

Maka grimaced but did as she was told, watching their shoves grow into a fist fight. It did not last: to her horror, one of them pulled a gun and shot the other when he stumbled. Maka was not sure why she felt so shocked at the sight of a man gunning down another. It shouldn't have made her sick but it did, watching him shoot him without batting an eye and pulling on a sneering smile at the sight of his once-friend twitching on the floor, strangled screams causing a flock of birds to leave their nest in the trees. Maka wanted to look away, but she couldn't: she watched the man writhe on the floor, gripping his stomach with both hands and screaming curses.

She had killed more Walkers than she could count without batting an eye.

But there was something so inexplicably inhumane about killing a Survivor, a living and breathing man.

She remembered Stein in that instant, and she remembered being told the difference between a Walker and a Survivor: none, save for the infection that ran in one, that made them sick but not monsters. But she did not want to die for that. She did not want somebody to bury her corpse without knowing who it was, without a single prayer. She did not want to be buried among the bones of nameless others. She wanted to live, and when the time came she wanted to be buried next to the ones she loved.

"Hey!" the monster on the truck shouted, waving his canteen around. He grinned and she swore his teeth were sharper than knives. To Nygus, he looked like a real demon, his eyes blacker than shadows and his grin extending wider than a Glasgow smile. "Finish the job, shithead, I don't wanna' have to deal with 'em coming back and fucking things up!"

"Got it, boss."

"Oh, my god," Liz covered her mouth when he shot the body four more times. The laughter that followed made Liz nauseous. She watched him snatch the hat off his dead friend and pull it on his head, walking away no more affected than one was after killing an insect. She swallowed her nausea and looked back at Maka, whose fingers were digging painfully into Soul's arm. Soul hardly seemed to notice.

"This is why we were so suspicious of you," Nygus quietly told them. She had her eyes trained on the monster that sat on top of that truck like a king on a throne. "They're monsters."

"Let's go," Sid turned away, tapping his wife's arm gently. "Before they find us. They're not the type of people you want to fight, not like how the world is now."

"You don't have'ta tell me twice," Liz muttered, already heading back with the pair. Liz noticed Maka and Soul had yet to move. "Soul, Maka? We're going, c'mon!"

"Let's go," Soul nudged, studying her conflicted face. He wanted to smooth out the creases between her brows, the way her eyes watched the scene with a frustration he understood but didn't act upon. "Maka?"

"...Right," she forced out and turned away, deciding this was not a world where justice existed and she was the last person who could make such a decision. This was a world collapsed of rules and order; this was a world unlike anything she had ever read before. It was different and there were new rules instated, most of which she did not agree with. But that did not make them any less real. She looked up at Soul and smiled, the smile not reaching her eyes. He squeezed her hand. "Let's go."

The trip to the North was more lively now that they had two added members to their group. Nygus had a lot of war stories to tell, a lot of skills that she taught them while Sid and Soul alternated driving. Soul even listened in sometimes when it wasn't his turn to drive, often commenting that if Black Star knew half the crap they did, they'd have made better decisions. Nygus had only smiled at that, saying her son was not one to sit down and learn—he needed to take things into his own hands and learn from that.

"No shit," Soul muttered, to her amusement. "That was basically all that guy did. He got us into some real hot water sometimes."

"Things happen for a reason," Sid told them happily. "It taught you to be more aware of your surroundings, and to exhaust all possible outcomes before committing to one. If you think about it, after all this mess passes, you'd make a real handy member in the military."

Soul snorted. "Not in your life."

Sid glanced at the rear view mirror, catching sight of a smiling Maka. "She can handle herself."

Soul flicked his eyes to Maka, too. He looked away when she caught his stare. "I know she can. Just don't like waking up at the crack of dawn everyday."

Sid smiled at that. He was a good kid; he was happy that Black Star had met him, even if they both seemed to have butt heads most of the time. Sid knew better than to think they really disliked each other; someone who was levelheaded like Soul was just the right person to befriend his headstrong, hot-headed, son. Sid glanced at the map after another hour of driving, making sure he was going the right way. By the look of things, in a few more hours they would be at the northern border. He did not know what to expect, but he did know that he was glad that he had kept his credentials on him the entire time. If those thugs from before had found them, no doubt they would've been burned or worse: that monster of a leader could have kept them and hunted them for the sake of entertainment.

"Sid," Nygus spoke up after a few minutes, her eyes crinkled. She was smiling and it surprised him. How long had been since he had the pleasure of seeing her eyes crinkle that way? Too long, he decided. "We'll take a break a few miles up, the girls want to—!" She jerked when Liz shrieked and Sid barely had time to glance at the rear view mirror, catching a flash of a white truck, before it smashed into the back of their van and nearly drove them off the road. He could hear his wife's harsh words in his ear, urging him to take control of the wheel, to _stop_.

"MAKA!" Soul roared, holding a hand out.

She tossed him a rifle, opening a box of bullets and tossing him a few. She tried to pick up the ones she dropped. Soul reloaded and cursed when the truck smashed into the back of their van again. He very nearly collided with the glove compartment that time. Soul aimed at the back of the truck, snarling at Liz and Maka to _get down on the floor, now_, he was not going to wait. Liz shoved Maka down and covered her ears, shutting her eyes, and cried out shrilly when the gun went off. She felt tears spring to her eyes; _so loud_, she could hear nothing but ringing. But sound came crashing back, the shatter of glass and Maka's cries of Soul's name before another jarring crash came and things went dark for her.

The next time she awoke, she was on her back and her eyes locked on stars. She jerked upright but hissed, holding her arm.

"Relax, you're hurt. Don't move too much," Sid's voice drifted from her side. Liz looked to find him kneeling, his gun out and his eyes gazing steadily ahead. "You've been asleep for a few hours."

"W-what happened?" She croaked, clearing her throat. She was sore all over and her head felt split open. "Sid? Where's Nygus—and Maka, Soul? Where is everyone, where am I?"

"They're looking for Maka," Sid told her evenly. She felt her heart speed up and she licked her lips, hoping it was not what she thought it was.

"Looking for Maka?"

"Soul got a clean shot at the driver," Sid began, grimly. "The truck lost control and crashed into us again at full speed, so we veered off the road. We crashed, and I managed to drag you out first. Nygus took you into the forest, and I stayed behind to pull out Soul. He got the worst of it trying to protect Maka from the glass...except I didn't account for those in the truck to recover so soon. They took Maka before we could get the van straightened and Soul out. I would have gone after them, except they were armed," Sid looked down, his jaw clenched tight. His eyes were stone. "I came back for Soul after they left, told him what happened. He left with Nygus. I stayed behind to look after you."

Liz felt sick. "Maka...Soul and Nygus, are they going to be okay? Can they really...?"

"Nygus was in special forces with me," Sid revealed after a moment. Liz stared at him. "She's more than qualified to take down a couple of fucking thugs."

Sid's words rang true, as Soul watched Nygus calculate the distance between them and Giriko. He could not see Maka but he knew she was there, with him, somewhere. He felt like puking his guts out at the thought of what could have happened to her, but he knew better—she would not let him hurt her, wouldn't go without a fierce fight. He could only hope she had not run out of fire yet, however, as Nygus motioned for him to follow her and they snuck around the perimeter of the camp. Most were asleep, but there was a few on lookout—two looking like they were falling asleep as well.

"Stay," Nygus hushed. She silently tread onto the camp and, without making a sound, she whipped out her knife and grabbed the dozing mans neck. She slit his throat without a sound, covering his mouth tightly with her hand and snapping his neck to ensure he would not blow their cover. She did the same with the other one on the other side. Soul would have looked away had he not been feeling the rage that bubbled beneath his skin, made his eyes gleam with a sadistic sort of pleasure as Nygus continued her silent execution. She did the same to another, bringing him down quietly and giving him the sign that it was clear.

"Follow," she shortly told him, holding her knife out in front of her cautiously. "We have to go through the back, take out Giriko and get Maka first. Do not make any noise. Do not attack anyone inside the tents. If we can do this before waking up the others, that would be best."

"If we can't?"

"Kill everyone," she evenly told him. "Don't take chances. Don't hesitate."

Soul stared.

She flashed her eyes to him, slit them and hissed, "Now is not the time to get soft on me, Soul, these men are monsters!"

"But, to kill everyone... some of them are just doing it for _survival_," he hissed back.

Nygus grabbed his face roughly, her fingers digging painfully into his cheek. She caught his arm when he tried to move and stared fiercely into his eyes. "Do you want to save her? Or do you want to see her die in front of you again?"

"..._Save her_," he grit out and jerked out of her grasp. He wanted to follow what he knew was right, but he found it difficult against such a reality. They had taken her from him without mercy, and kicked his face when he tried to take her back. A chill ran up and down his spine, and his dark thoughts made it hard for him to find his god. He let Nygus lead and he rounded the tent, freezing when he heard a familiar shout. He snapped his head to the SUV, not the tent. His eyes widened and he felt...unhinged, a violence he didn't know he possessed fueling his steps. He saw the truck, heard more cries and curses, and his breathing was loud in his ears and his knuckles cracked around the handle of his rifle. He tore the door of the truck open and he saw a foot—leg, familiar boots. His heart came to a complete stop when he found him on top of her, holding her hands over her head, hissing such vulgar and foul things at her as she turned away and tried to knee him—

"_Get the fuck off her_," Soul snarled, grabbing him by the back of his shirt and shoving him out of the truck. He heard Maka gasp his name before he brought his foot down on Giriko's arm, a sickening crack following.

Bat—he told her a rifle was like a bat and, well, it worked as well as one as he bludgeoned Giriko's head with it.

"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, SHITHEAD?" Giriko screamed wildly around a spit of blood, his eyes wide and wild. "YOU WANNA' FUCKING FIGHT, I'LL KILL YOU—!"

He swung the gun to the side his head one last time, snapping his head to the right, a _home run _ his thoughts laughed. Soul watched passionlessly as he fell over, gasped in a bloody breath and held his head. He flipped the gun, reloaded and heard Nygus in his head. She said to _kill them all_ because mercy was just another word that had been forgotten in time, and it had been proven when he told them to leave her alone and take him instead. He had to kill them. And he was okay with that, _completely_ _okay_ with that. They were not undead, but it wasn't some staggering corpse he needed to be afraid of. It wasn't getting bitten, getting ambushed, becoming surrounded by a hoard. It was people like him, people with wild eyes like animals, with mouths twisted into snarls like beasts and the hunger of demons in their hearts. Those were the people he needed to fear, and kill.

"FUCKING SHOOT ME, FUCKHEAD, I FUCKING DARE YOU," Giriko screamed, wiping the edge of his mouth with the back of his hand. Wild eyes like an animal, his mouth twisted like a beasts, with a savageness that belonged to a demon burning in his voice, Giriko snarled, "THAT BITCH CAN'T TAKE MY COCK ANYWAY!"

Soul aimed and shot and the blood was red this time.

* * *

Nygus cursed when she heard the shot ring out. She grabbed her knife tightly in her hands and backtracked, her eyes flicking to the tents that were shuffling with men. She heard voices rise and she was quick in her kills. Experience taught her better than to hesitate in such a crucial situation. Her hands moved like clockwork, and bullets were too slow for someone like her. Guns were messy and awkward, hard to use in a situation where a split second was all that was needed to kill a man.

It made things easy for her.

She was already used to killing men.

This was no different, in the end.

By the time she managed to take down the little men Giriko had recruited, the danger had passed. Some wisely fled upon realizing they could not kill her with brute force alone. She drew her gun and shot those down before they could run too far. Once she was certain everyone had been accounted for, she ran toward where she heard the gunshot and stopped a few feet away from the pair. Nygus Maka was holding Soul, stroking his hair and whispering things that sounded like _you're going to be fine, you had to do it, he would have killed you if you hadn't _and, most importantly, _I'm fine—you **saved** me. _He gripped the back of her shirt, his face buried in her neck, his arm crushing her to his chest. She did not know exactly what happened, but it was easy to imagine when she saw Giriko's dead corpse crippled on the floor by the truck. His head was blown off. It was splattered around, and she looked down and lifted her foot to find a piece of his skull there.

She gave them a second, watched Maka stroke his hair and squeeze him tight to her chest, before she spoke up.

"We have to get going. We can't waste anymore time here, the noise from the guns will attract Walkers."

Soul let go of Maka and pushed himself to his knee, resting an arm there. He helped her up, placed a hand on her side and gently righted her when she wobbled. He let go once she nodded at him.

"Are you hurt?" Nygus asked.

Maka smiled weakly at her. "He hit me a few times on the way here. But it's nothing major," Her hand came away bloody, dark—black? Nygus narrowed her eyes but before she could ask, her ears caught noise coming from the other side of the camp. The shadows cloaked them when they backed into the woods. Nygus' directions were quick and straightforward: follow her and make no noise.

Soul offered his hand to to Maka after a few moments.

"Let's not get lost like that again," he told her quietly and she took his hand tightly. He then looked at Nygus. "Let's go, I have her. There's no use killing anyone anymore," Soul said. "Not even Walkers." Nygus watched them go for a second before she followed them this time, making sure to keep a look out. The area seemed clear, however, and Nygus made note to return to the truck after she dropped Soul and Maka off at their camp. They had supplies they would need for the way North, as well as a working vehicle. It was a long walk and Soul took it upon himself to carry Maka on his back when her steps began to get sloppy. He breathed no complaint as he walked back, and tried to ignore the blood he felt bleed through her shirt and onto his. She was not breathing hard or making any noises. But he still hurried, wanting to patch her up as soon as possible.

"Wait here for my signal," Nygus told him, stopping him. She motioned for him to hide behind a tree. "I'll be back shortly." She went on ahead to check if Sid was still there or not.

"...Are you okay?" Maka mumbled against his neck.

Soul looked up at the stars. They were bright tonight, washing away the darkness of the land with every roll of the clouds. "Yeah, now that you're back."

She tightened her arm around his neck, pressing her lips to the back of his hair. "Thanks, Soul."

He pressed a hand to her arm in reply, heaving her up on his back when Nygus signaled for him to follow. Sid was quick to take out what little medical supplies they had, motioning for him to lay Maka down on the sleeping bag Nygus had rolled up and packed into the backpack she took from the camp. Soul hadn't noticed she had raided it as well; he wasn't quite all there, numb to most things as he knelt by Maka and watched Sid and Liz patch her up. If he were being honest, Liz looked more beat up than any of them—even Maka, who had her back split open because Giriko had hit her with some sort of whip. A split cane, Maka would later clarify.

For now, as they patched her up, as Nygus conversed quietly with Sid and glanced worriedly at him, as Liz said she would try to get some sleep and they should, too, he slumped tiredly beside Maka and wrapped a comforting arm around her, burying his face in her neck and knowing he would relive the moment he pulled the trigger and went against his promise not to kill a Living.

* * *

"I'm never going to get rid of these bags," Liz murmured three mornings later, sighing as she looked away from her deadened reflection in the window. The gray SUV was rather cramped and smelled of whiskey and tobacco, but it was better than nothing. They were lucky those thugs had two cars with them, one of which was suited for travel unlike the white truck, which they had wrecked along with their van. She found Maka dozing soundly against Soul's chest, of whom was yawning widely in his hand and trying not to fall asleep himself. He looked more tired than usual and Liz knew it was because he hadn't quiet recovered from what happened three days ago—none of them had. Nygus had a loaded gun in her lap, Sid refused to allow anyone but himself drive, and she had yet to see Soul let Maka go aside from letting her take a piss. And she was sure if he could hold her hand then he would, too.

She didn't blame him, though.

Even she, herself, was jumpier than usual. She was always looking over her shoulder, her nerves anticipating a tailing car. But nothing would approach; it was a long stretch of empty road both ways. She was not sure if they were heading the right way, could barely read a map herself even if she was in charge of it, but the suitcase she carried on her lap was their only chance. She tightened her grip on it; the vials inside remained unharmed despite their tousle during the crash, and for once she was happy Kidd took such over-the-top precautions. She would have to thank him the next time she saw him.

"Do you think we're close?" Liz asked Soul, who cracked an eye open and looked out the window.

"Doesn't look like it."

"We still have another days travel ahead of us," Nygus supplied, giving the girl an assuring smile. "Since there's no traffic, we should make it there even sooner!"

"Ha," Liz forced a laugh out, sinking in her seat. She clutched the suitcase to her chest. "Right, no traffic. Because everyone is dead," she added to herself, letting her head bump against the window.

Soul shifted his eyes down to Maka, who slept soundly against his chest. He rubbed her arm gently and opted for looking out the window, watching the desolate forest scenery blur past him. It seemed that the comfort he usually derived from the forest couldn't help him now, not with the horrors the forests hid. The once ambient habitat had become a breeding ground for the morally barren, the humans who had reverted into rabid animals all from a single viral infection. His eyes flashed to the suitcase Liz held tightly to her chest. All of mans woes and terrors could be cured by that single vial in that suitcase. It was almost enough to make laugh, how such a tiny thing could fix everything. But even he was not foolish enough to believe that a vial could fix the societal decline, the madness that had spread over the land and infected everyone. No one was safe from this sort of savagery, not even him.

It had been proven to him when he shot Giriko.

He still couldn't find it in himself to regret it.

"What's that over there, Sid?"

"Looks like...barriers? What?"

Soul looked out the window and sat up straighter when he was the barriers were not makeshift: they were military barriers, with tanks and jeeps and what he could see as the Canadian military stationed outside. He heard Sid murmur something about them having made it much sooner than he anticipated when Soul saw one of the guards wave them back. Although he was sure the pair did not notice the rifles aimed at them all of a sudden, he was relieved that Sid still had his credentials on him. It was enough for the guards to consider them, and Liz wasted no time in explaining the situation—showing them the suitcase, reciting what Kid had firmly ingrained in her mind since they left for the border, and Soul would have laughed at their wide-eyes and slack jaws had he not been as exhausted as he was.

"Soul?"

He looked down and found Maka looking up at him, her eyes still sleepy. "What is it, Maka?"

"Are we going to be okay now?"

He stroked her hair gently for a second, looking up at the guards who flagged down the rifles. Sid's window scrolled back up and they were driving past the barriers, into land that was much brighter than the one who had been gloomily gazing at previously. "Yeah," he smiled down at her. "We're gonna' be okay now. Look, it even looks better on this side," he lifted her up and let her peer out the window, to the greener forests that were bleeding into a metropolis. He could see guards stationed every few yards, attentive to any unnatural sound.

"Do you think Black Star and Akane made it here?"

"Yeah. Black Star would never let some dead guys push him around," he grinned down at her, relieved at the light that had filled her eyes. He was always saying the wrong things, he was glad today he said something right. "Once we get settled down over there, we'll look for them, alright? They can't be that hard to find."

"Not with someone like Black Star," Maka giggled.

"Oh, my god! I can't wait to take an actual bath! With hot water and _soap!_" Liz sighed out dramatically, sinking back into the car seats with a giddy smile. "I'll never take a bath for granted ever again!"

"Or toilet paper," Soul added, grinning when she made a face at that. Maka giggled in his chest.

"We're gonna' have to pass through decontamination," Sid spoke up, looking at them from the rear-view mirror. "Considering we look alive, they won't shoot us. But we're gonna' spend most of the day getting checked through." He grumbled out a few more things, Nygus placing a gentle hand on his arm in silent comfort.

"You don't sound too happy about it," Soul commented.

"It's a pain in the ass, and being in situations that are pain in the asses isn't the type of man I am," he sighed but looked at him with relieved eyes through the rear view mirror. "Good news is, considering this is a pandemic, at least we're assured some sort of shelter and food. I can't say it'll be good, but it'll be better than what we've been living in. And since that lady back there has something very important, maybe they'll even let us sleep in an actual hotel."

"We lived in some decent places before," Maka spoke up, smiling at Sid. "Aside from sleeping in the car on our way here, we haven't had the bad luck of camping out int he forest or worse."

"Ain't you lucky," Nygus cheeked and her eyes crinkled at the sides when Maka smiled. "At least we know that if we get into some trouble down with the guards, we'll have you to cutesy your way into the city."

Maka pinked but beamed and Soul rolled his eyes, ruffling her hair but not breathing a word; not that he could deny it, he would kiss every inch of her face in that moment if his cool didn't hold him back, scolding him for such mushy thoughts.

"Ngh," Sid grunted, slowing down.

"We here?" Nygus asked gently.

"Yeah," he groaned. "I hate gettin' shots."

"Maka comes with me!" Liz quickly spoke up. She rose the suitcase, beaming at them all. Soul wanted to squint his eyes and tell her to turn down the sunshine, but decided, since Maka seemed happier than she had been the past three days, he would tone down his attitude for once. "I have the papers that explain why her blood's black!"

"So she does have black blood," Nygus said. "Like them."

Liz smiled, uncertain. "Yes, but, she's not...like them. Because of the cure, you know, she's not rabid or anything. She's perfectly fine," she assured. "We've observed her and made sure she's okay. She's not going to...to turn," Liz held Nygus' eyes as she said this, knowing that the next few hours were going to be either hellish or easy-going. Because she could see the mistrust in Nygus' eyes when she realized Maka's blood was black. She could only imagine what she'd think when she heard Soul's blood had been black for a long, long time.

"She hasn't tried to go for the neck, so no sweat off my back," Sid deadpanned. "Now let's go get this over with...hate shots..." he grumbled as he got out of the car.

"Let's go together," Maka told him once they were out, their fingers loosely linked. "We both have black blood, so, they might want to take us aside for extra tests." She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes glowing. "We have to stick together, right?"

Soul smiled softly. "Right."

As long as they didn't lose each other again, they would be fine wherever they went or whatever happened.

He believed that.

* * *

**A/N: **This is not the end. There will be a short epilogue that I will post within the next few days :)

_Scarlett._


	5. Epilogue

**Radar  
by. **_Poisoned Scarlett_

_Epilogue — 1 month later.  
_

Their reunion was sudden, much like everything in their lives had been since the pandemic.

"Maka...?"

He was standing there, holding a load of groceries in both his hands. It had been weeks since she arrived to this side of the border, where one did not need to cower or sleep with their gun, and she had not heard a word of her friends since she arrived. They had searched the records and were relieved to find their names written down, but it had been months since they arrived and the north was vast. But there he was, as if he had been there all along, close enough for Maka to see the whites of his wide eyes. He was much taller than she remembered and his hair was not shaggy anymore. It was styled back, spiking out in a way that reminded her of Soul. He had grown so much over the past few months, even his eyes were different. She did not see any of the childishness she once treasured; now, it was dark blue, and they stared at her with a maturity someone his age should not have. But he did, and all she could do about it was cry and reach out for him with her arms.

"_Akane!_" she shouted, slamming into the little boy. He dropped his groceries and clutched her tightly, as if he let go she would disappear again.

"Maka," he choked, digging his fingernails into the back of her shirt.

Soul came out of the store rummaging through the plastic bag, trying to find the leather gloves he had bought. He felt tired; he did not sleep well, even with Maka by his side. But he did not sleep at all when she was not next to him at night. He was more than a little shocked when he heard Akane shout out his name, snot running down his chin and a giant grin on his face. The kid was bigger than he remembered, just as lanky but taller, with his hair cut short from behind but long in the front. His eyes were darker, too, more black than he remembered them being. But he was in one piece and looking no worse for wear, so a grin split his face and he jogged over to them without wasting another second.

"Is that really Akane?"

"Yes, he was outside when I walked out!" Maka laughed wetly, rubbing her eyes out with her knuckles as Akane latched onto Soul's midsection. "If he's here then maybe the others are, too!"

"You brought her back," Akane cried hoarsely, clutching onto Soul's shirt. Soul placed a hand on top of his head. "You brought her _back_," he rasped, eyes shut tight against a rush of tears. "You kept your promise!"

"I told you I would, didn't I?" Soul said with a crooked grin, ruffling his hair.

"Where were you?" Maka asked immediately, her hand reaching out to hold his shoulder. "I haven't seen you around here and..."

"I, uh, I don't live here," Akane stammered, his eyes downcast. "Every month, Tsubaki brings me here to the border so I could ask if you...if you were here since they have to take your name down. I was gonna' go ask them right now, but Tsubaki wanted me to go get some snacks for the others."

"Clay and Anya?" Maka eyes lit up, watering when Akane suddenly looked up with bright black eyes. "They're here, too?"

"Yeah! And they're going to be so happy to see you! They miss you a lot!" He said, fiercely. He grabbed her wrist, grabbing Soul's as well. "You're both back, so we can go back together now! We can live like we did before, right?"

Soul cast Maka an uneasy look. They were not allowed to leave because of their blood. They needed to be in the main city, where they were easily accessible to the team of medical doctors who were trying to recreate the vaccine Kid and Stein had created and more. "I'm not sure about that. Maka and I just rented an apartment around here a couple of weeks ago..."

"B...but we have an apartment, too, you can come live with us!" He insisted, starting to look scared again. "Maka?"

"It's okay, Akane," she smoothed her hand over his hair, smiling comfortingly. "How about you take us to Tsubaki? We have some things to discuss with her, and then we'll figure out what we can do to stay together, okay? But now that I know you're okay, we _will_ stay together," she promised, smiling when he nodded and his eyes lost their frightened gleam. "Do you know where she is?"

"She's buying some clothes," Akane told her, softly. "She says they're for Anya."

"I hope she's not spoiling her," Maka sighed, a smile on her face nonetheless.

"Last thing we need is a spoiled Anya," Soul muttered. His hands were in his jackets pockets, but he slipped his right hand out to grab Maka's when he saw they were in for a long walk. "So why'd Tsubaki send you to buy some groceries all on your own? Is she the only one who came with you?"

"No, Anya and Clay are with her but they're too small to go buy stuff by themselves," Akane explained. "Black Star stayed at the apartment."

"So he's fine, too..." Maka sighed in relief.

"Mhm...but...Kilik..." Akane went quiet and Maka felt her heart drop. Soul cursed to himself, looking away so the kid didn't have to see his face crumble with pain. He had anticipated deaths, but certainly not Kilik's. Maka squeezed Soul's hand and smiled faintly down at Akane when he looked up, somber.

"It's okay," she assured him. Her eyes were dull, however. "Don't talk about it if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"Akane, is there any way to reach Black Star right now? Maybe by phone or something?" Soul hoped, wanting to contact him about his parents. Sid and Nygus had been absolutely devastated when they realized that although their son had passed through the border, he was no longer a resident in the refuge town they were currently residing in. The towns that spanned beyond this one were numerous, and they did not keep track of their inhabitants like the refuge town did.

"Black Star's back home, taking care of Nana."

"Who's Nana? Someone else you guys took in or...oh," Soul stared when Akane explained that it was Tsubaki's baby, Nanaki Nakatsukasa. He didn't seem to understand how she came with child, but he did say that Black Star was the father and he had stayed behind to care for the baby while Tsubaki brought him over to check the records. They usually left after checking, which was why he had gone out to buy groceries. Today was their last day, he explained, and then they headed back and waited another month before coming back to check.

"Black Star's a dad now," Maka quietly said, Akane tugging them both along.

"Hard to believe that idiot could father a child."

"Tsubaki's there to help."

"That doesn't mean he still isn't an idiot...and thickheaded!" Soul scowled, remembering all the times Black Star's bullheadedness had almost gotten them killed. "He can't take criticism from others. If anything,_ I'd_ make a better dad than that moron! At least I'd take advice from other people!"

Maka smiled at him and looked back down to Akane, who was pointing at a building up ahead with bright eyes. "Prove it," Maka murmured, repeating it when Soul furrowed his brows at her. "That you can be a better dad. Show him," she smiled softly down at Akane. "He needs one, right?"

"W...well," Soul looked down at Akane and then back at Maka, cheeks pinking. "He... is also gonna' need a mom. Y'know, it's always better to raise a kid with two parents."

"Or three."

"Wait, three...?" Soul saw Clay dashing towards them, Anya's tiny form bouncing after the boy. His steps slowed as Maka stepped forward, bringing all three children into her arms with bright eyes. She particularly soothed Anya, whose pitched cries had reached a deafening level when she realized Maka was really there and really okay. "Three," he sighed out, rubbing the back of his neck with sudden weariness. "Man, I always wanted all girls, not so many boys..." He noticed Anya staring up at him, standing very close to him as Clay and Akane excitedly told Maka of their past adventures. "Uh. Hey, Anya. Why aren't you with Maka? What's up?"

She held out her arms to him, lips drawn down in a pout.

"..."

She bounced on her feet, starting to whine, her eyes watering when he only stared down at her blankly, and then he bent down and picked her up slowly. It seemed to be what she wanted because her eyes immediately lost their watery glimmer and lit up happily. She comfortably sat herself on his arm and rested her cheek on his shoulder, sucking her thumb and ignoring Clay when he realized what she'd done and cried in outrage. Then he had Clay clawing at his pant leg, shouting shrilly that she had cheated and she stole his idea and it _was all her fault, he was going to cry. _

"You're too old to be carried now, huh?" Maka giggled at Akane, rubbing his back while Soul desperately tried to juggle two unruly toddlers. Tsubaki came out at this moment, calling out for the children loudly, and stood very still when she saw Maka slowly stand and smile brightly at her, calling out her name. Tsubaki was tall, taller than most girls, and her steps long so she reached Maka in few strides, bringing her into a crushing embrace with her name sobbed out of her mouth, tears streaming down her face because she had been so sure she had become one of them, had to have Soul take her out because the virus had taken over her system.

"Black Star is not going to believe it," Tsubaki laughed, tearfully. "You're both safe!"

"About Black Star," Soul hollered, Clay hanging off his elbow. Anya was trying to kick him off but was falling down his chest herself. He held her tight, leaning heavily over in case Clay let go and fell. "His parents are here and they're looking for him!"

Tsubaki's eyes glistened and Maka walked over to help with Clay.

"His parents? They're really here?"

"Yeah, we came across them while we were heading over here. We can go visit them later on, they live next door to us!" Soul grunted, peeling Anya off his chest. She immediately threw a tantrum. "Maka! She's screaming in my ear!"

"Hold up, let me get Clay off you!"

"Get _Anya _ off me before I go deaf!"

"Calm her down, would you? Just give me a second..."

"Christ, Maka..." He let her cling back onto him, her crying silenced the instant her cheek met his shoulder. He decided that, yes, she had been spoiled again. Maka had control over her when she had been in her care, but now it seemed that Anya had reverted back to her spoiled ways, and he wondered how Maka would control her now that she learned that crying could get her anything she wanted.

"Anya is quite...demanding," Tsubaki laughed nervously. She was glad to find them bickering, although there was something endearing about the way they bickered. It was not stiff like before. Something had changed and Tsubaki hoped it was what she thought it was. "Black Star often takes care of her because she doesn't seem to like me very much. She cries a lot when she's alone with me."

"That explains a lot, actually," Sou deadpanned.

"She behaves with Clay, though, and Akane!"

"Barely," he mumbled, tilting his neck so a sleepy Anya could bring her thumb into her mouth again. He sighed but a smile still lifted his lips. Akane watched him nervously, knowing that Anya was a handful sometimes, but he was relieved when the man smiled and he hefted her higher on his arm. That was good, that meant he liked her, too, and maybe they could all just stay together like before. Akane hoped so; he would do all he could to stay with them in the city tonight, even if it meant sneaking into their apartment. He hoped Anya and Clay felt the same; they were like his siblings, he could not leave them now.

"Soul," Maka chided, holding Clay's hand as she stood. Anya looked torn between Maka and Soul but decided on Soul when Clay shot her an intense look. "Come on, Tsubaki. We have a lot to discuss," she said and Tsubaki immediately nodded, her eyes bright at the prospect of finally talking to her long-lost friend. Maka noted how her hand went to her tummy and her smile widened.

"Let's go back to our place, that way you can meet Black Star's parents and tell them the good news," Soul smiled crookedly when Tsubaki gave him a startled look. Maka giggled.

"You know?"

"I told them about Nana," Akane meekly admitted.

"That's good, it's okay," Tsubaki smiled, maternally. "Yes, let's go. I'd love to meet his parents!"

There was a future, even if it was still uncertain for them. But there was one and as long as there was a sliver of hope for them, she would be content.

In this new world, having just a sliver had to be enough.


End file.
